


Quarterback

by ultraviolet_violet



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Barchie (Background), F/M, Jeggie?, M/M, Rughead?, Summer Love, Who Knows?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:48:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29670969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ultraviolet_violet/pseuds/ultraviolet_violet
Summary: The perfect summer seems to be a dream to Jughead Jones until it actually happens. Even then, he wasn’t sure if it was truly real.He spends his summer living out his fantasy. he swears he’ll never forget the days he spent with Reggie Mantle of all people.They both knew it would end, but they had never expected those three months to disappear as quick as they had.
Relationships: Archie Andrews & Jughead Jones, Archie Andrews/Betty Cooper, Betty Cooper & Jughead Jones, Jughead Jones/Reggie Mantle
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	Quarterback

**Author's Note:**

> *BARCHIE IS NOT THE MAIN SHIP IN THIS FIC*
> 
> Hello!!! So this is _obviously_ not bughead and is different (ship wise) from what I typically write. I promise that the title isn’t weird or random. This fic was inspired by a song by a band called Wallows (I really love them and recommend their music!!!) called Quarterback (hence the name lol). 
> 
> Anyway, do Reggie and Jughead even have a ship name? Would it be Jeggie? Rughead? Mones? Jantle? I have no idea, but I’ve always thought that if I was to write something like this, it would be about the two of them. 
> 
> I’m done rambling here. If you’re reading, I hope you enjoy!!

Jughead paced the length of his room, anxious. He bit his nails and chewed his lip in an attempt to understand anything that was going on. 

“Jug, maybe you should sit down,” Betty said from the foot of his bed, unnerved by the way he was acting. 

“No,” he mumbled, glancing out the window before starting to pace again. “I’m fine.”

“Jug,” she sighed, twisting her lips. 

“He’ll call. He said he would,” he muttered, continuing to chew on his bottom lip.

Are they done?, he wondered. Is this over? Everything they’ve done, he’s supposed to forget about it?

Summer was perfect. He wanted to go back to summer. Back to when he wasn’t riddled with anxiety and didn’t have to keep his head down when he walked. 

The summer was nice, calming. He could be himself without fear of being rejected or misunderstood. He didn’t find that with many people. 

_3 and a half months earlier_

_“Hey,” Betty sighed as she stepped up to Jughead’s side._

_He offered a thin lipped smile and she clasped her hands in front of herself, sighing again in an attempt to get him to ask an unspoken question._

_“What are you thinking about?” he asked finally, looking over at her. “I can feel your brain threatening to implode.”_

_She rolled her eyes and he smirked. “I am not thinking about anything,” she lied with a smile and he narrowed his eyes._

_“Archie?”_

_“Shut up,” she mumbled, watching the ground._

_“What spell has he put on you now?” he chuckled, tucking his hands in his pockets._

_She exhaled deeply, shrugging. “So you know how Cheryl’s having that end-of-year-party tonight that everyone’s invited to no matter how much she hates you?”_

_“Yes.”_

“Okay,” she breathed, twisting her fingers. “Do you think Archie would go? I mean, does he care about parties enough to go?” 

_It was Jughead’s turn to shrug. “What do you think?”_

_“Jughead,” she whined, frowning._

_“Uh, he’s Archie,” he murmured, wincing. “He’s on the football team, he’s a social God in any high school. So, yeah, probably.”_

_“So what should I wear?” she asked and he scoffed. “This is important!”_

_“You’re not going to talk to him.”_

_“I am!” she huffed, waving a finger in his face. “You can bet on it.”_

_“Fifty bucks?”_

_“Not literally,” she laughed, and he chuckled. “But seriously, what should I wear?”_

_“Well,” he started, draping his arm over her shoulders. “The Betty everyone knows and loves would wear a dress and you have many of those.”_

_“Hair down?”_

_He studied her for a minute before nodding. “Hair down. We’ll talk more after I raid your kitchen.”_

_Polly walked into Betty’s bedroom and closed it behind herself, sitting down on the bed beside Jughead._

_“What are you two getting ready for?” she asked, taking a chip when Jughead held the bag out towards her._

_“A party,” Betty shrugged simply, pulling a dress out of her closet. “Yes?”_

_“Eh,” Jughead answered, trying to hide a wince. Betty groaned and put it back in her closet, biting her lip as she looked through her clothes._

_Polly furrowed her brows, asking, “Cheryl’s?”_

_Jughead nodded._

_“I thought you didn’t care about those?” she questioned teasingly._

_“Archie,” Jughead breathed. “If he’s there, she cares.” He laughed when Betty threw a t-shirt at him, her cheeks red._

_Polly grinned, turning towards her younger sister. “Do tell.”_

_“There is nothing to tell,” Betty gritted, embarrassed._

_Polly glanced at Jughead. “She’s telling the truth,” he muttered, setting the chips he had aside. “She won’t talk to him.”_

_“I talk to him!” she huffed._

_“No,” Jughead laughed. “He comes over, says hi, and you blubber.”_

_She groaned, turning back towards her clothes._

_“Why don’t you talk to him?” Polly asked, brows furrowed again. “He’s our neighbor, Betty. He’s really nice.”_

_“I know that,” Betty uttered, pulling a dress out of her closet. “This one?” Jughead examined it, nodding. “For the way you dress, you’re very opinionated on how I look tonight.”_

_“You asked,” he smirked and she rolled her eyes, changing._

_“How long have you had a crush on Archie?” Polly asked, following Betty with her eyes as she went to sit in front of her vanity._

_“It’s not a crush,” she whispered, opening the drawer with her makeup._

_“She only told me about him a few months ago,” Jughead answered and Betty spun around, shooting him a glare._

_“Who are you friends with?” she asked and he shrugged. “Stop listening to him,” she stated with a glance at Polly._

_“Why didn’t you tell me? I’m your sister.”_

_Betty shrugged. “I never got around to it.”_

_Polly scoffed. “That’s your lie?”_

_“You’re in college! What are you going to do?” she asked, looking at Polly through the mirror._

_“Many things,” Polly said with a smile. Betty sighed and Polly stood, walking over to her. “Are you seriously going to talk to him?”_

_“Yes,” Betty breathed, looking up at her when she leaned against the vanity._

_“Be careful.”_

_“What does that mean?” Betty questioned, her voice showing her sudden concern._

_Polly shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest. “You’ve never been with someone before. You’re very delicate at this age.”_

_“You sound like mom.”_

_“Betty, you are,” Polly whispered and Betty swallowed thickly. “You get attached easily, you fall in love easily. The first person you ever get with, no matter how much you swear they don’t, they’re important. And if things don’t go your way, it’s going to hurt. I’ve been there, I know this.”_

_Betty was quiet, absorbing Polly’s words. Jughead was much the same and was suddenly feeling very out of place._

_“I’ll be okay,” Betty whispered, wearing a small smile. “Promise.”_

_Jughead and Betty stepped into Cheryl’s house, getting greeted by the HBIC herself. “I’m so glad you’re here!” she exclaimed dramatically. “Drinks are in the kitchen. Help yourself.”_

_Betty pulled Jughead with her to the kitchen, both of them taking red plastic cups a guy pushed into their hands. They exchanged tentative glances as they sipped from them._

_“Fine,” they said in unison, her hand dropping his._

_They scoped out the place, staying close to each other. After doing a lap around the whole first floor, they settled in a corner in the living room where they were able to see everyone._

_Jughead quickly found Archie and bumped Betty’s shoulder with his own. “Now’s your chance,” he mumbled, waving his hand in Archie’s direction. “Go.”_

_“No,” Betty breathed, shaking her head quickly. “Jughead, I can’t just walk up to him. That’d be weird.”_

_“Lot’s of girls do it.”_

_“I’m not ‘lot’s of girls’,” she whispered and he knitted his brows together. “Come with me.”_

_“No. This is your thing.”_

_“Jug, please,” she whined, pouting. “It would make it easier for me.”_

_“What am I going to do over there? Look stupid?”_

_“Jughead,” she pleaded softly, meeting his gaze. “Come on. Pretty please?”_

_“You are a big girl now,” he said, cupping her face. She frowned. “Betty, I’m not always going to be here to do this stuff with you. I know you can do this on your own.”_

_“At least walk over there with me,” she begged, eyes pleading. “You can leave as soon as Archie and I start talking. Please, Jug.”_

_“Fine,” he sighed and she grinned. “But you’re going to say something to him.”_

_“Yeah, sure,” she whispered and he scoffed. “I will, promise.”_

_“I’ll believe it when I see it,” he shrugged and she shoved his shoulder lightly._

_“What do I say?” she asked as they walked towards him slowly._

_“Hey, hi, hello.” She frowned again and he snickered. “Sorry,” he whispered, holding up a hand. “Say you like his hair. You do like-”_

_“You’re not helping!”_

_“I don’t do this!” he exclaimed softly and she groaned. “Betty, just be you. You don’t want to act like someone you’re not because if this gets serious, it’s not going to take him long to figure out you were lying about yourself.”_

_She bit her lip, glancing at Archie. They were much closer now and she could hear his laugh over the music playing. He too had a cup in his hand and he was talking with some other football players, girls swarmed around them._

_“Jug, I don’t think I can do this,” Betty whispered anxiously, taking Jughead’s arm. “I don’t belong over there.”_

_“You’re a cheerleader,” he chuckled, looking over at her. “You certainly belong over there. And you’re also Betty. You can fit in anywhere.”_

_“No,” she whispered, biting her lip. “No, I-I can’t. This was a bad idea anyway-”_

_He grasped her arm to stop her from walking away, holding her in place. “He’s Archie. For a football player, he’s nice. He’s about the only guy who doesn’t give me shit. Screw everyone else, you’re not there for them._

_“You say that like it’s easy,” she complained._

_“I don’t know what to say to you other than that you only get one chance at this.”_

_She bit her lip, looking over her shoulder._

_“Betts, go talk to him. You know you’ll regret it if you don’t so you might as well just get it over with.”_

_She twisted her lips and breathed deeply. “Okay,” she sighed. “You’ll stay close by?”_

_“Yeah, ‘cause you’ll suffer if I’m not three steps away,” he joked and she chuckled, rolling her eyes. The two of them moved over to where Archie was sitting and Betty glanced back at Jughead who nodded._

_Once she was in Archie’s view, he smiled. “Betty!” he exclaimed, turning towards her. “How’ve you been? You, like, avoid me in the hall all the time,” he chuckled, stepping closer towards her._

_She stammered for a moment, glancing at Jughead who looked away quickly. “I’ve… been really good,” she whispered breathlessly and Archie grinned. “How about you?”_

_Jughead snickered at the blush that covered Betty’s face, ears, and neck. The fact that she was talking to Archie was shocking enough and he was proud. It was about time she did it._

_After stalking around for some time, Jughead found himself wandering around outside. He sat down beside the pool and watched his reflection, his brows furrowing when Reggie of all people stepped up beside him willingly._

_He turned his head and looked up at him. “Aren’t you afraid people will see you?” he asked, amusement in the words._

_Reggie shrugged as he sat down beside him, his eyes fixated on the still water of the pool. “People are too busy anyway,” he murmured, looking over at him._

_Jughead raised a questioning brow. “I’m, uh… I don’t get why you’re over here.”_

_“Both of our best friends ditched us for the other,” Reggie scoffed, leaning back on his hands. “I mean, it’s obviously going to get serious so we’ll have to like each other to some extent.”_

_“Get serious?”_

_Reggie nodded. “You should hear the way he talks about her. He goes on and on and on. It’s getting a little old.”_

_“Why did he never say anything?”_

_“Do I look like his brain?” he questioned, annoyed. “Stop asking dumb questions.”_

_“I asked three in the whole time that you’ve been over here.”_

_Reggie nodded again, muttering, “Exactly, and they were stupid.”_

_“You’re moody,” Jughead whispered, looking away from Reggie’s gaze. “Is that common?”_

_“Could be,” Reggie shrugged and Jughead furrowed his brows in a silent question. “What?”_

_Jughead scoffed and shook his head incredulously. He watched Reggie’s hand. It was dangerously close to his thigh. He swore he saw his finger twitch and almost brush his leg._

_It excited him to an extent, but also made anxiety plow through him at dangerous speeds. What was this and could he just be misreading simple things? He did it often. Like that one time he kissed Betty. Her eyes were so big afterwards, he thought they might fall out of her head. They vowed to never speak of it again._

_“What’s your endgame here?” he asked after a few silent minutes, his eyes moving back to Reggie’s face. He looked calm and at ease with himself. That alone made Jughead’s heart pound—and not in a good way._

_“What’s yours?” he asked carefully, meeting Jughead’s gaze._

_His eyes weren’t necessarily a shocking shade of any color, but in the light, Jughead supposed they were nice looking to some extent. They were the color brown that looked the best in midday sunlight._

_Jughead swallowed thickly and looked away. Reggie had a hard, strong gaze that was difficult to look into long without feeling something. What was he feeling?_

_“I think I’m going to go home…” Jughead murmured as he stood, uncertain how to go about whatever was happening here. “Have a good night.”_

_“You too,” Reggie whispered with a smirk that made Jughead pause. Dammit._

_He clenched his jaw, leaving slow enough not to alarm others, but fast enough to be able to finally breathe. As he walked through the house, pushing through sweaty bodies and moving past people who were caught up in a little too intense makeout, he found Betty and Archie still talking heavily on a couch._

_Her gaze caught his and he mouthed, “Stay.”_

_She said something to Archie who nodded, adjusting in his seat when she stood up and walked over to Jughead. “Where are you going?” she asked, pushing hair behind her ear. “Home?”_

_“Yeah,” Jughead breathed, the two of them moving out of the way of people. “I’m kind of bored here and I have some thoughts in my head. I need to get them written down before they’re gone.”_

_“I can come too-”_

_“No!” he cut in quickly, cutting her off. “No, please don’t. You and Archie are seriously hitting it off—take advantage of that, please. You can tell me all about it tomorrow at Pops, okay?”_

_“Are you sure?” she questioned, biting her lip. “Jug, if you want me to go, I will. Just say the word.”_

_“I want you to stay and to continue to enjoy yourself. I mean it,” he added firmly. “I love you, goodnight.”_

_“Goodnight,” she breathed, smiling at him after he kissed her forehead. She waved to him before walking back over to Archie and sitting down beside him._

_Jughead exhaled deeply after exiting the front door of Cheryl’s party. He kept his head down as he walked and took careful, tentative glances over his shoulder. His body was warm and humming and that made him vulnerable._

_“Fuck,” he cursed, picking up his pace._

_Betty almost skipped into Pops the next morning. She was always giddy and grinning, but this was different._

_“Good time?” Jughead chuckled, closing his laptop and sipping from his mug of coffee._

_She sighed as she sat down, giggling. “It was amazing!” she laughed and he chuckled again. “We talked for, like, hours. Like actual hours went by of us just talking. I don’t think that’s ever happened with anyone besides you, maybe. And then he walked me home and walked me to my door and he kissed me. Kissed me!”_

_“Welcome to the club.”_

_“Shut up,” she giggled with a blush. “He’s really great, Jug. I really, really like him.”_

_“Well, are you two dating now?”_

_“I don’t know,” Betty mumbled, her voice suddenly getting very small. She traced the table with her pointer finger restlessly. “And that’s the thing. There’s so many other girls who would do anything for him to notice them, and now I’m in the mix. He has options. Veronica, Valerie, Josie. It’d be hard for me to be first on the list.”_

_Jughead thought back to what Reggie had said hours before. He wondered if he should say anything. If he did, he would have to explain why Reggie told him that which would lead to him also having to explain why he was talking to Reggie and then that would lead to him having to tell her how he walked home and couldn’t stop thinking about the interaction for hours._

_“Well,” he sighed, shrugging. “He seemed to really like you. You can’t be so hard on yourself, Betts.”_

_“Yes, I know, but it’s hard,” she whispered, still watching at her hands. “I’m trying to be positive, I swear. It’s hard sometimes. It’s not like I’m the best looking girl at Riverdale High, Jug.”_

_“Obviously,” he stated and she froze, her look going from somber to anger when she glanced at him. “You’re the hottest. Let me finish.”_

_She rolled her eyes and laughed, covering her face with her hands. “You’re ridiculous,” she giggled when her laughter started to die down._

_He shrugged, nodding. “But you love me.”_

_She grinned again like she had earlier, folding her hands on the table. “So…” she said in a sing-song voice. “What’d you do while I was… busy, per se.”_

_He panicked internally for a second. “Nothing,” he answered, which was partially (and almost completely) true. “I just walked around.”_

_“Sorry for leaving you alone,” Betty winced and he shook his head._

_“It was okay. You were doing something your middle school self would have died over.” She giggled, a flush covering her face. “Speaking of that, maybe you should go knock on his door and see if he’s up for lunch.”_

_“Oh, no,” Betty breathed. “I can’t leave you all by yourself again and I cannot push myself onto him again.”_

_“Sure you can. Betts, if you want to be first pick, you gotta put yourself out there. You can’t shy away from everything about him.”_

_“Should I even be taking dating advice from someone who's never been in a relationship?” she asked jokingly and he smirked._

_“You could always ask Polly,” he offered and she cringed. “Yeah, didn’t think so. And you should ask him. Or maybe he’s waiting to ask you, you don’t know.”_

_“Jug, I can’t keep abandoning you.”_

_“I’m working, go on,” he pressed, moving his computer back in front of himself. “I promise, I will be okay and I will not get into any trouble.”_

_She sighed, standing. “I’m sorry-”_

_“Go petition for your guy!” he laughed and she groaned, leaving with a smile over her shoulder._

_Ten minutes passed before there was another body in the seat across from him. Jughead looked over the top of his computer and scoffed._

_“You’re not going to give up, are you?” he asked as he closed his laptop. Reggie just shrugged. “I’m going to regret it but, I’ll bite.”_

~

“I said I would meet Archie at Pops,” Betty said, standing up off the bed. “Tell me what happens, okay?”

Jughead nodded and she kissed his cheek, squeezing his hand before leaving his room. 

He sat down where she had been sitting and felt the hope seep out of him. He had gotten too attached to an idea. He knew it wouldn’t have lasted. Nothing that happens over the summer lasts. 

He could vividly remember Polly telling Betty to be careful, yet she wasn’t the one who needed to hear something like that. It was him and he ignored it. He didn’t even take anything she said into consideration until he was in waist-deep. 

~

_Jughead walked beside Reggie, both quiet. They had talked a little at Pops. It was light conversation and neither of them were giving up much information. They both had walls up, but it was hard to tell who’s were higher._

_“Is your dad still a drunk?” Reggie suddenly asked and Jughead laughed._

_“Yeah, he is,” he chuckled. “Yours?”_

_“Of course,” he responded, chuckling too. Their social lives rarely mixed, but their home lives had similar links._

_Their dads were alcoholics, abusive. Their moms were distant (or, in Jughead’s case, gone) and were too worried about their younger sisters. And their sisters acted like they were better than them one minute, or acted as if they couldn’t survive if they left. Reggie only had a trust fund and Jughead had stolen money stowed away that was broken into for beer money often._

_“How’s Betty?” Reggie asked slowly, tentatively._

_“Why do you want to know? You got a thing for her?” Jughead chuckled and Reggie scoffed. “Happy. But that’s nothing new.”_

_“Archie’s really into her, you know.”_

_“Yeah, you’re his best friend. You’re pretty much hired to say that, aren’t you?” Jughead questioned mockingly._

_“I’m being serious. Archie doesn’t walk girls home unless it's serious.”_

_“They’re neighbors,” Jughead laughed._

_Reggie shrugged. “He didn’t have to walk her home,” he murmured. “He could have ditched her, stayed at the party. But he walked her home.”_

_“Stop trying to convince me that walking someone home means they’re into you.”_

_“It could,” Reggie shrugged. Jughead narrowed his eyes in question. “Why do you always look at me like that?”_

_“You say always like we’ve talked for years.”_

_“Okay, but the past two times we have, you look at me like I’m insane,” Reggie laughed lightly. “Why?”_

_“Because lately, you’re confusing,” Jughead began explaining. “I read people when I meet them because it makes life easier, tells me how to act around them. I can normally anticipate you to be the big jock guy who’s just a background side piece too stubborn to say anything. Now you’re talking and you’re… you’re confusing.”_

_“I’m confusing because I’m not acting like a jock?”_

_“Yes,” Jughead said with a nod. “It’s like Betty when she’s having a bad day and isn’t all pink and yellow and rainbows. I don’t know what she’ll do, say. It’s freaky.”_

_“Why do you want people to be predictable?” Reggie asked with furrowed brows. “Doesn’t that make life boring?”_

_Jughead looked over at him, his own brows now furrowed. “What? It makes life easier.”_

_“But does it?”_

_Jughead scoffed, shaking his head. “Are you a therapist in training?”_

_“Think about it,” Reggie whispered, pausing their gait. “You expect me to be some other guy, when I’m really not. You’re not stupid-”_

_“That’s a shocker coming from you.”_

_“-expecting people to be someone they’re not only makes the pain worse when you find out who they truly are.”_

_Jughead’s brain froze. He didn’t know what to say or how to respond. He’d never predicted something like that would come from Reggie._

_He scoffed after a moment, starting to walk along the sidewalk again. “Who’d you get that from? Have you been all over Betty, too?”_

_“You’re acting like this because you know it’s true.”_

_“Acting like what?” Jughead laughed, glancing over at Reggie. “You can be a jock asshole again. I almost preferred you like that.”_

_“Do you do this with Betty, too?” Reggie asked and Jughead rolled his eyes. “You need to admit to yourself that this ‘reading’ people isn't very healthy. Is it a way to deal with what your mom did or what your dad does?”_

_“Screw you.”_

_“You can’t admit it, can you?” Reggie continued and Jughead’s jaw clenched. They stopped again, the street empty and their eyes trained on each other._

_“I’m not going to admit to something that’s not true.”_

_“No, you just don’t want to admit to it so it continues to not be true.”_

_“What gives you the right to say all this to me? You don’t know me, Reggie. You just suddenly start talking to me at a party to tell me I’m weak? That I can’t handle things that have been happening to me since I was eight-years-old?”_

_“No, I have my reasons. But I don’t want you to be oblivious to the things I do and say like you are with everything else in your life.”_

_“Don’t talk to me that way,” Jughead seethed through gritted teeth, pressing a finger into Reggie’s chest. “You don’t get to call me stupid because I choose to be ignorant when it comes to the people I let around me.”_

_“I didn’t call you stupid, I called you oblivious.”_

_“I am not oblivious!”_

_“You are! You are and you know it.” Jughead swallowed thickly, looking away from Reggie. “It’s okay to live in your own world, but sometimes you need to open your goddamn eyes when someone's right in front of you.”_

_Jughead’s brows knitted together tight as Reggie walked away. Being blind to things around himself kept him safe. It’s how he ignored trouble and kept to himself. But what did he mean ‘when someone’s right in front of you’?_

_Jughead didn’t ignore everything people did or said or how they acted, right? Was Reggie trying to tell him something about someone? About Reggie himself? Did Reggie even know what he was saying?_

_Jughead didn’t appreciate how much he was forcing him to think._

~

The trailer was dark and silent. Fp had gone to The Wyrm for the night while Jughead stayed home. Betty had called and told him he should come over, that she would “really like to make sure” he’s okay.

He declined politely. He didn’t want to leave home, just in case. He didn’t tell her because she would ask too many questions he wasn’t sure he would know the answers to. 

He had stopped pacing long ago and got into the shower, trying to wash away the anxiety that lingered. It hadn’t helped much, but the hot water burned away some tension he had in his muscles. 

The day had taken a toll on him. He was exhausted and couldn’t wait to finally fall asleep. 

And he had, but only for an hour, maybe a little more. It had become a habit for him to wake shortly after falling asleep—if he had, that is. 

Some nights he’d lay awake, waiting patiently for there to be a knock on his window. Then other nights, he would fall asleep, after he had begun trusting him, waking to a kiss to his cheek, jaw or the feeling of someone holding him. 

The first night that had happened, he was startled. He hadn’t expected it. But once he was okay and he knew who it was, he relaxed. 

Now lying in bed alone, he craved the feeling. He had anticipated it every night and now that he no longer had it, he felt empty and more alone than ever. He was becoming a cliché. 

~ 

_Two and a half weeks passed and Jughead hadn’t heard from or seen Reggie. The abrupt cut off was a little odd, but he didn’t think much of it. He still hadn’t figured out the things he had said or why he said them, so not seeing him could be a good thing. Just in case he quizzed him._

_He had become friends with Archie since him and Betty were now serious. Betty wasn’t a big fan of the two of them playing video games for most of the day at first, but she grew used to it quickly and sat back, getting caught up in books she was reading in her spare time._

_Now Jughead could count on finding Betty upstairs in Archie’s bedroom. He was always careful to knock before entering his bedroom and gave them a moment to collect themselves. When he stepped inside and the two of them were flushed and tousled, he didn’t dare ask what they were up to._

_When he went to leave one night, he rolled his eyes at the car sitting in wait across the street. Part of him found the fact that Reggie couldn’t leave him alone amusing. The other part of him found it a little unnerving._

_He walked across the street and glanced down at Reggie. He had his dad's Camaro and it made him snicker. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” he said with a smirk._

_“What’re you doing?” Reggie asked and Jughead shrugged._

_“Depends,” he answered._

_“Get in.”_

_“You going to try and murder me?” Jughead asked jokingly as he hopped into the passenger seat of the car, not bothering opening the door._

_Reggie shrugged, grinning stupidly as he looked over at him. “Maybe.” Jughead laughed, his smile mirroring Reggie’s._

_He probably shouldn’t have gotten into Reggie’s car and shouldn’t have let him drive the two of them out of town. He didn’t necessarily know what type of person he was anymore. But Jughead recognized that they were in Greendale, so at least he knew he wasn’t too far from home._

_Halfway through the drive, he looked over at Reggie. “Where are we going?” he asked, finally realizing what the hell he just did._

_“A party.”_

_“In Greendale? Why?” he chuckled incredulously. “I’m sure Cheryl’s having one as we speak. Mommy and daddy dearest are gone. Or, if she’s not, Veronica is. Her parents just left for Dubai.”_

_“You know too much about people,” Reggie muttered and Jughead shrugged. “Yes, yes. I know. It’s easier for you if you do. And we’re going to a party in Greendale because people there don’t know us.”_

_“You’re Reggie. A quarterback on the football team. People definitely know who you are. They don’t know me though, I know that for sure.”_

_“They know the jock asshole Reggie,” he muttered, avoiding Jughead’s glance and smirk. “Without my letterman jacket, they won’t recognize me. I’ve had to reintroduce myself to the same ten people every time we go to a party. But, if it were Archie, they’d know who he was in a heartbeat. He has a less generic look.”_

_Jughead scoffed, shaking his head. “I still don’t understand why I had to come. Why aren’t you bringing some girl? And I still don’t get why you keep hanging around me, you know.”_

_Reggie went quiet. His cheeks turned red and Jughead tried to ignore the look, but he couldn’t. He wanted to probe deeper and figure out the reason for the unexpected shift in Reggie’s composure._

_“Do you look like that because I’m oblivious?” Jughead asked after a few seconds of silence._

_“He’s learning,” Reggie breathed, and Jughead’s eyes dropped to his hand as he watched him change the gear of the car. He glanced back up at Reggie’s face and cleared his throat, looking back out at the road._

_At Archie’s, Betty was almost ecstatic that she finally had her boyfriend back for five minutes of her time. She was glad Archie and Jughead got along, it made things easier for her, but she also hated it a little. She didn’t get a best friend or a boyfriend when they were too busy playing a video game she didn’t understand. Honestly, she wasn’t sure if she understood boys as a whole._

_Her and Archie had decided to watch a movie. Or she had at least. She convinced him to watch The Notebook because it was “one of my favorites” and “is one of the best romance movies to come out of the early 2000s”. He shrugged and let her put it on._

_If she really wanted to watch a movie, she would have chosen something she hadn’t seen a thousand times over. Polly had told her if she wanted to ‘do’ something with Archie, she had to set the mood and make him bored because that’s what always worked for her. She had also told her dinners work really well, too—especially when you wear a little black dress._

_The information was a lot and having to listen to her sister give her a rundown of what sex was like wasn’t much fun, but she survived nonetheless and was ready. Since she obviously couldn’t do dinner, she bored him just like Polly had said to do. And it worked._

_As the movie progressed, Archie’s hand lingered up her thigh, his pinky hiding just under the hem of her skirt. She smiled devilishly when he kissed her shoulder then her neck, turning her head to look at him._

_“What are you doing?” she asked playfully, her eyes showing she was only asking to play dumb._

_He smirked and she giggled, cupping his cheeks as he kissed her and laid her back on the couch._

_Reggie and Jughead walked through the party, talking and mingling with people. They both used fake names—James and Max—and the drunker they got, the funnier the lie became between the two of them. Soon enough, they had walked away from a group of people so they didn’t blow their cover by laughing each time someone said their alias._

_Reggie hadn’t lied about no one knowing who he was. No one recognized him and he could visibly see how that alone made him move easier. He acted as if pounds and pounds of bricks were lifted off of him and he was finally truly free._

_The drive home was stupid and reckless. If someone saw Reggie swerving all over the road while both of them belted lyrics to old songs the two of them somehow knew, the both of them would certainly get arrested. Jughead thinks some God was the only reason they got the car back into Reggie’s garage in one piece._

_“Are you going to be able to get home okay?” Reggie asked in a whisper as they walked into his house. Jughead didn’t really know why he was following._

_He shrugged and nodded. “Yeah, I should be fine,” he uttered back. “I’m not that drunk and I know the way. I think walking is easier than telling you the directions from the passenger seat.”_

_Reggie chuckled and Jughead felt heat flood his veins at the noise. Reggie’s smile that followed made his body react in ways he hadn’t felt towards anyone in… a while._

_“You could crash here,” Reggie offered, getting water bottles for himself and Jughead, tossing one to him. Jughead watched as Reggie’s arm flexed when he opened his own bottle and clenched his jaw. “My dad’s passed out on the couch out there and my mom wouldn’t mind.”_

_Jughead shook his head, leaning against the counter behind himself in an attempt to look collected. “I-I should… I-I really shouldn’t,” he stammered softly and Reggie shrugged, walking towards him._

_“You could,” he murmured, standing in front of him. Jughead’s breath caught in his throat when Reggie moved closer, inches away from him, fingering a bracelet on Jughead’s wrist. “Six bedrooms, ten bathrooms. There’s more than enough room,” he whispered, his eyes meeting Jughead’s._

_“Reggie,” he croaked breathlessly, embarrassed about how his body was becoming attentive to the glances and soft touches rather than the very obvious voice crack he just had. “We shouldn’t.”_

_“No, we shouldn’t, should we?” Reggie questioned, furrowing his brows and tracing a finger over the top of Jughead’s jeans. His breath came out in a rush through his nose and his eyes squeezed closed. “I want to show you my room.”_

_“This is bad,” Jughead mumbled. “Your dad.”_

_“I’ll be alright,” Reggie shrugged. “He’s knocked out cold for a solid six hours and he’s so drunk half the time, he can’t tell the difference between a friend and someone I’m attracted to so I’ve gotten out safe more than enough times. And if you’re worried about him somehow finding out and telling your dad, you don’t have to worry about that either. Your dad stopped believing shit my dad told him years ago. He’d probably laugh in his face if he even got the balls to walk up to him.”_

_He grabbed Jughead’s hand, smirking. “Now, like I said,” he continued, giving a gentle tug. “I want to show you my room.”_

_Despite his hesitance, Jughead let him pull him up the stairs and to his bedroom. He was shocked at how clean it was and eyed the football equipment sitting in a corner beside his bed._

_Reggie closed the door and locked it, cupping Jughead’s cheek and forcing him to meet his eyes. “I’m going to kiss you now and if you don’t want that, tell me.”_

_Jughead’s eyes fell to Reggie’s lips at the words. Their faces were so close he couldn’t breathe without it fanning his cheek._

_“Okay?” Reggie whispered, steadying his face._

_“Okay,” Jughead breathed out before their lips met, slow at first before it grew heated with hands tugging at clothes and bodies slamming into furniture and walls._

Jughead woke the next morning with the sun in his eyes. Reggie’s arm was wrapped around his waist and kept him firmly placed in bed and held back into him. He despised him a little for that. 

_Surprisingly, he didn’t have that bad of a headache and even the sun wasn’t making his head pound viciously. He could remember everything from the night before and normally, it made him want to run. He wasn’t one who woke up next to the guys he slept with. But something about being here with him was… calming, almost._

_He knew someone could walk in any second (he could hear a lawnmower going outside. It had to at least be 9:30 A.M.) and see the two of them. That always seemed to happen in the movies, at least._

_Carefully, he reached towards the floor and found his jeans. He pulled out his phone and squinted at the screen, seeing a flood of texts from Betty._

_**B: We need to talk!** _

_**B: Very important!** _

_**B: Please be okay!** _

_**B: Meet me at my house at noon.** _

_**B: I love you!** _

_**B: (Sorry for using so many exclamation points)** _

_He chuckled softly at the texts, sighing._

_**J: I’ll pick up Pops on the way.**_

_**B: You’re alive! Hi!** _

_**B: Damn. Sorry.** _

_**J: You’re excited?** _

_****_

_**B: Yes. That’s all I’m saying until I see you.**_

_****_

_**J: Very important, huh? __**_

_**____ ** _

_**____ ** ____ _

**__**_B: My lips are zipped! I’ll see you at noon for details. And where have you been?_

_____ _

_**J: My lips are zipped! I’ll see you at noon for details.** _

_____ _

_**B: :/** _

_____ _

_**J: ;)** _

_____ _

_He turned off his phone when he felt Reggie shift behind him, his arm pulling away. “You okay?” Reggie asked groggily, rolling onto his back._

_____ _

_“Yeah, I’m okay,” Jughead whispered, turning red when rolled onto his back in order to look at him._

_____ _

_Reggie laughed, folding his hands together and pressing the back of them to his forehead. “Are you always shy?”_

_____ _

_Jughead shrugged. “Sure.”_

_____ _

_“You know this changed a lot of stuff, right?”_

_____ _

_“Now you’re the oblivious one,” Jughead chuckled, grinning when Reggie did. “Are we going to exchange numbers or are we going to pretend this didn’t happen?”_

_____ _

_He reached around himself and pulled his own phone off of his nightstand, unlocking it before passing it to Jughead. He typed in his number quickly and passed it back, glancing out the window._

_____ _

_“I have to meet Betty at noon so I should go soon.”_

_____ _

_“Mm-hm,” Reggie hummed, kissing his shoulder. “You should.”_

_____ _

_“Are you always going to do that?”_

_____ _

_He shrugged, smirking when he leaned over him. “Sure,” he mocked, dipping his head down to kiss him._

_____ _

_____ _

_“You did it?” Jughead asked and Betty sighed dreamily._

_____ _

_“It was nothing like how Polly swore it would be. She said it’d hurt and he’d be terrible and it would be humiliating. But it was, like, perfect.”_

_____ _

_“Perfect?”_

_____ _

_“Yes, perfect,” she giggled. “Maybe it’s because he’s… you know, been with other people, but he knew what he was doing. And it didn’t hurt or anything. It felt… like how it was supposed to.”_

_____ _

_“Okay, hold on,” Jughead murmured, shaking his head in disbelief. “You had good sex for your first time?”_

_____ _

_“Why is it so shocking?”_

_____ _

_“Because! Betty, I can’t even think about my first time without dying a little inside.”_

_____ _

_“Well, I’m special,” she huffed and he laughed. “Okay, now tell me where you were! I called and texted and worried.”_

_____ _

_“I was just… out,” he whispered, looking down at his feet._

_____ _

_“Out?”_

_____ _

_“Yes.”_

_____ _

_“With who?” she asked, eyes narrowed in question._

_____ _

_“Why does it matter?”_

_____ _

_“Ah-ha!” she exclaimed excitedly, raising up and sitting back on her haunches. “Tell me about him.”_

_____ _

_“Betty,” he groaned, pinching the bridge._

_____ _

_“Please? It’s been forever since you’ve been with anyone.”_

_____ _

_He sighed, eyeing her. She smiled innocently, waiting expectantly._

_____ _

_“I’m not telling you his real name.”_

_____ _

_“That’s fine,” she said with a grin, patting the bed beside her. “I’m ready to listen.”_

_____ _

_____ _

_The rest of the summer was almost a blur—again, he was seriously a cliché. Reggie made him that way._

_____ _

_Most of his memories of summer were at night either in Reggie’s room, his own, on the empty football field behind the school, at a party in a neighboring town, or down by sweetwater._

_____ _

_He had gone to meet Betty and Archie at Pops one night per Betty’s request. He had known Reggie was going to be there, Betty had told him as such. But seeing him there still made him freeze outside for a minute._

_____ _

_When he came inside and was forced to sit beside him, his cheeks turned pink then to a deeper red when Reggie laughed at something he said. He was acting like a very naive teenager (and he was one, technically)._

_____ _

_He had prayed to God Betty wouldn’t notice, but she was overly observant. She had learned from the best._

_____ _

_She caught the act almost as soon as it happened and choked on her drink. Archie gave her a panicked look and she waved him off, covering her mouth with her napkin as she continued to sputter._

_____ _

_She shot Jughead a sharp look and he cringed. “Okay,” she breathed, smiling. Jughead shook his head and she raised a brow. Archie and Reggie watched the two of them, confused, sharing a questioning glance. “Approved.”_

_____ _

_Jughead groaned and dropped his head into his hands._

_____ _

_Shortly after the encounter, Archie had figured out the secret, too. Reggie was horrified and cut their fling off for some time. “I can’t risk someone else knowing, Jughead,” he seethed before hanging up the phone._

_____ _

_Days later, he was calling him back again to apologize and explain he and Archie had talked about it. Archie swore to secrecy and Reggie thanked him. He also explained that he and Archie had been best friends since childhood and having him knowing the one thing he was terrified would separate them actually relaxed him some about the whole thing._

_____ _

_Jughead found himself soon craving the long drives in Reggie’s dad’s cars and the parties in Greendale or the late night swims and the petty arguments over even pettier things._

_____ _

_The night he finally admitted how he felt—finally told him he loved him—he felt like he was dying. He had never once told anyone besides Betty that he loved them, and that was platonic. This was totally different._

_____ _

_Reggie’s smirk told him all he needed to know._

_____ _

_He hadn’t heard him say the three words back until hours later. It warmed him to a core he hadn’t known he had. No stupid movies declartion of love could top it._

_____ _

~

_____ _

Jughead knocked on Archie’s front door. He hadn’t waited a whole five seconds before Fred was opening it with that iconic smile. It was at that moment he realized Archie would certainly resemble him once he aged. 

_____ _

“They’re upstairs,” he explained and Jughead smiled his thanks. “You’re going to the game too tonight?” 

_____ _

“Uh, yeah,” he breathed, forcing a small chuckle. “They’re my best friends so…”

_____ _

“I know you’re not interested in football in the slightest,” Fred chuckled, taking steps back towards the downstairs bathroom. He had begun renovating it with Archie that summer. “That’s nice of you.” he finished. 

_____ _

Jughead flushed at the compliment and nodded, walking up the stairs when Fred turned away completely. Once upstairs, he fully pushed open Archie’s bedroom door and Betty offered a smile. 

_____ _

“I think I got,” Archie murmured behind her and she sighed. “Hey, Jug.”

_____ _

“Hi,” he breathed before raising a brow. “What’s up?”

_____ _

“This damn zipper is stuck again,” Betty grumbled, letting out a surprised squeak-ish noise when Archie finally got it to zip. “Thank you.”

_____ _

She kissed his cheek and Archie’s face got as red as hair. Jughead rolled his eyes mockingly and Betty kissed his as well, taking his hands. “How are you feeling?” she asked, meeting his gaze. 

_____ _

“Fine,” he answered softly and she narrowed her eyes. “I’m okay. I’m fine.”

_____ _

“Promise?”

_____ _

“Yeah,” he breathed and she sighed. “I'm a teenager, this is normal. Your dad would agree,” he said with a nod towards Archie.

_____ _

“He would,” he murmured, looking at Betty. “He’s a big believer in teen breakups being the hardest. And I believe your sister believes that as well.” 

_____ _

“ _You’re_ supposed to be _my_ boyfriend,” Betty said pointedly, looking from Archie to Jughead. “And _you’re_ supposed _my_ friend. No one is ever supposed to disagree with me in this group.” The two boys shrugged in unison and she huffed. “Rude!”

_____ _

“We love you,” Jughead whispered, both of them kissing one of her cheeks. “ _Now_ , I would like to watch overly grown teenage boys play a game I don’t understand while also getting to watch you gawk.”

_____ _

“I don’t gawk!” she argued with a frown. “Do I gawk?” Jughead hissed through his teeth after draping an arm over her shoulders and she smacked his chest lightly. “Shut up,” she laughed. 

_____ _

_____ _

“Do you want to come to Pops with us?” Betty asked Jughead after the game, her hold on Archie’s hand tightening. She followed his line of sight to the boys locker room. “Or do you have things you need to take care of?” He clenched his jaw when he glanced back at her and she nodded. “Love you,” she whispered, taking his hand and squeezing it gently as her and Archie walked away. 

_____ _

Jughead waited outside patiently. He made it so it looked like he had lost something in the bleachers as people diminished and so had the players. Reggie was the last one out and Jughead had given up on hiding. He was waiting beside the locker room doors on the ground. 

_____ _

He stood to attention when Reggie stepped out, stopping him. “Can we talk?” he asked and Reggie sighed. “We’re done, I know that, I’m not stupid. But that’s just from days of nothing. Are we done or not?”

_____ _

“Obviously,” Reggie whispered incredulously, trying to step around him. 

_____ _

Jughead stepped in front of him, questioning, “Why?” 

_____ _

“Why?” Reggie repeated and Jughead gave a short nod. Reggie swallowed thickly, glancing over Jughead’s shoulder. The football field lights cut off. “Think about it, Jughead. Think about if anyone here besides Betty and Archie knew about us. I loved you—I still love you, I didn’t lie about that. But come on,” he laughed, tears in each of their eyes. “I would do anything to go back to whatever this summer was… _anything_. And I wish things were different because I want you. I want to be with you.”

_____ _

“You can,” Jughead breathed weakly.

_____ _

“I can’t,” Reggie sobbed. “I want to, but I can’t. Not right now. Maybe in a few years, Jug. I gotta get away from my dad, this town. My dad would kill me with his two bare hands if he knew about this. My mom, I don’t think she would ever talk to me again. I can’t even fathom how Jillian would react. And if we were older, I wouldn’t care. I would have you and that would be enough. But right now, I need football, and I need a place to stay, and I need to get into college so I can go somewhere where me being who I am doesn’t matter. Maybe you’ll be there, too.” 

_____ _

Jughead breathed shakily and Reggie wiped his cheek. 

_____ _

“I love you,” he whispered, cupping Jughead’s face. “Don’t forget that, please. I’m sorry that I can’t handle what comes with this, but I don’t… you’re smart, you have grades. Your brain, I…” He scoffed, shaking his head. “Your brain, that’s getting you to college. I just have me and if I don’t have football, I’m fucked and I’ll just… I’ll be my dad. I’ll be miserable drinking away years of regrets. I’m so sorry for dragging you into this, but I think you saved me last summer.”

_____ _

“Don’t say that.”

_____ _

“You did. You really, really did. Thank you. But now we have to go our separate ways and fucking hope to some God that you and I will end up somewhere with each other.” 

_____ _

“We don’t have to do this.”

_____ _

“You know that we do,” he whispered as if he was guilty of a crime, and Jughead swallowed thickly. Their lips met, both of them shuddering. Jughead gripped his shirt and pulled him closer, trying to deepen the kiss, trying to make it last longer, but Reggie stepped back. “I’ll see you around.” 

_____ _

Reggie wiped his face when he turned away, leaving Jughead behind. He stood in the same spot for long minutes and stayed still even when he heard the gate to the field being opened. 

_____ _

Betty and Archie both showed their faces around the corner and Jughead’s forced smile faltered. “I didn’t want to leave you all alone,” Betty said through a wavering voice, tears filling her eyes when she saw how hurt Jughead was. 

_____ _

Archie’s hand fell from the small of her back as she stepped towards Jughead, the two of them sharing a bone crushing hug. Jughead glanced at Archie who stood awkwardly, not knowing what to do. He knew he and Jughead had become friends, but he wasn’t sure if they were friends who hugged. 

_____ _

Betty and Jughead pulled apart and Betty wiped a tear from her eye, giggling when Jughead smirked. “We love you,” she whispered, fixing his hat. 

_____ _

“I know you do,” Jughead murmured, clearing his throat. “I’m better now.”

_____ _

“Are you?”

_____ _

“Not right now ‘cause it still hurts, but yeah. I’m better than I was. Things are cleared up now,” he shrugged and she sighed, hugging him again. “Did you two go to Pops?”

_____ _

“Betty started crying halfway there so no,” Archie chuckled and she groaned, drying her eyes. “You know, this is off topic, but my dad built me a treehouse when I was six. That’s where I used to go when things were... you know.”

_____ _

“You have a treehouse?” Jughead questioned and Archie nodded. Jughead glanced down at Betty who had her brows furrowed, seeing the game that was being played with glances only. 

_____ _

_____ _

Archie kissed Betty’s cheek and she giggled, clapping her hands. “It now has lights and is clean and painted and has a makeshift sitting area and bored games and books. It’s our space. For us three.” She smiled at Archie and Jughead both, twisting her lips. “If we need to get away, we can come here.” 

_____ _

_____ _

That night the three of them slept in the treehouse like children at a sleepover. They told horrible ghost stories and even worse true stories. They had too many s’mores and made too much noise. Archie’s snoring made Betty and Jughead both groan, but her smile showed how much she truly loved the boy. 

_____ _

“Where do you think we’ll be this time next year?” Betty asked Jughead softly later that night, her hand under Archie’s shirt with her head on his chest. 

_____ _

Jughead shrugged from the other side of her. She couldn’t see him, but she felt his shoulder brush her back and knew what he was doing. “We’ll be where we’re supposed to be,” he uttered and she glanced over her shoulder with a grin. “What?”

_____ _

“That’s a very grown up answer for Jughead,” she giggled and he shrugged again. “I’m sorry about Reggie.”

_____ _

“I am too,” he sighed, shrugging yet again. “But I got you two. I’m good, I’m happy.”

_____ _

She laughed, moving her hand to reach around herself to squeeze Jughead’s. “I love you.”

_____ _

“I love you too,” he breathed, smiling tiredly. She pulled her hand away and slipped it back under Archie’s shirt. 

_____ _

After Betty assumed Jughead had fallen asleep, he asked, “Do you think his dad knows how to make waffles?”

_____ _

She laughed and rolled her eyes. “You’re a dork!”

_____ _

“I’m asking!” Jughead laughed and she covered her face as she did the same, the cars outside drowning out all the noise coming from the little illuminated place in the trees.

_____ _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!!! I don’t even know if they have a ship name (as said in my first note lol), but I really wanted to do something like this at some point. 
> 
> Everyone’s comments and kudos mean the world to me. Again, thank you for reading!! I hope you have a great day/night/morning/etc.!!
> 
> Tumblr: ultravioletviolet


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